Mike McQueary's Testimony Holds Key to Entire Jerry Sandusky Case

Mike McQueary may testify on Friday during the preliminary hearings for Penn State officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, according to Reuters. His testimony holds the key to the entire Jerry Sandusky case, which continues to make national headlines.

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McQueary's story is important to the case against Sandusky and the two officials because he testified to a grand jury that he witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a boy in the showers of the football building, and reported it to then-head coach Joe Paterno.

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The Nittany Lions coach, who is currently on administrative leave while Penn State investigates the matter, has watched his credibility come into question because of various stories which have been told since the scandal broke.

It's that credibility which the defense teams of Sandusky, Curley and Schultz will use as a starting point for breaking down the prosecution’s case.

After waiving his client's preliminary hearing earlier in the week, Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, asserted that McQueary will make or break the case (via The Patriot News' Sara Ganim). So that makes his first appearance in court and potential testimony vital.

The cases against Curley and Schultz are both based on their stories to the Grand Jury, which didn't match up with what McQueary said. They were charged with perjury following release of the report about the alleged sex abuse by Sandusky.

There's a low bar for taking a case beyond the preliminary hearing, which means Curley and Schultz are likely heading toward trial like Sandusky. That's especially true since the Penn Live report states a witnesses' credibility can't be questioned at this stage.

However, it's sure to become an issue down the line.

McQueary will eventually need to clear the air about what he actually witnessed and the aftermath of reporting it to former head coach Joe Paterno. If his story doesn't hold up, the cases against all three men could be in jeopardy.

It's amazing that a scandal of this magnitude could hinge on a single individual, but that's the situation McQueary finds himself in. His appearance in court on Friday will be the first step toward setting the record straight about his involvement.

And it could have a lasting impact on everybody involved.

UPDATE: Friday, Dec. 16 at 9:35 a.m. ET

Quotes from McQueary's appearance in court have begun to be reported, including the following one about what he witnessed on the night discussed in the Grand Jury report.